The Story so far
April 2009
bakeaway pizza was borne out of the belief that there was a place for better pizza. Take one of the most popular ‘fast foods’ and make it great. That was the idea. That is what we have done.
How did we go about this? Firstly we spent months developing the dough. It had to be the perfect dough that delivered a stonebaked experience out of domestic ovens. It needed to rise, it needed to crunch and, of course it had to taste great. We sourced the flour from Shipton Mill in Gloucestershire who have been great in helping us along the way. After many hours spent, mixing, kneading, and opening up pizza bases, we got there. This was step 1.
Then we turned to the ingredients to go on top. Through the deli next door, The Big Fat Olive, we met Danilo Trozzi, a passionate Italian chef who both produces amazing food himself under his ‘Just So Italian’ range, but also imports high quality food from his native Italy. He spent some considerable time visiting small Italian producers to source the best mozzarella. So many pizza places use ‘mozzarella for pizza’ which is not the real deal and we were determined to get the best we could. He also brought in tomatoes for the sauce, pancetta, prosciutto, sun dried tomatoes…the list goes on and they all have one thing in common. Quality.
Danilo has been immensely supportive in our aims from day 1. He was perhaps not totally convinced, being both a chef and Italian (hey, why not get yourself about the most critical judge you can!), that we would be able to do it, that it would work. However, once he tasted our pizza he was won over. Getting that approval was a definite boost and step 2.
We have looked much closer to home for many other key ingredients. Where possible, we like to keep it local. Ham and sausage from King’s Farm Shop, fresh herbs, fruit and vegetables from Sycamore, also based here in Wendover. These local businesses have been really encouraging and supportive also. It’s great to be surrounded by successful small businesses who really want to see you succeed too. Getting the product together was step 3.
Add the bespoke packaging, the menus (thank you Bluepepper Design) and 2 loyal and dedicated members of staff both of whom were prepared to go on this unknown journey and we were ready to open. This was the scary bit.
We opened the doors just before Christmas, the evening the Royal Air Force band were playing around the Christmas Tree and the shops stayed open late for Christmas shopping. We were rushed off our feet. We couldn’t believe it. We just about coped that night. Why so busy? Yes, it was a festive evening and everyone was in a great mood but the real reason? Simple. Local support. Friends and friends to be supporting a new local business. It was a great evening and we were touched.
Since then we have been quietly producing fresh pizzas and the feedback has been fantastic. Our customers are really positive and we are pleased to say, many are becoming regulars. We have heard of Pizzas making it to London and Oxfordshire but the prize so far goes to Cornwall! Our pizzas are enjoyed by customers from 3 to 83 and we are thrilled about that. It is food for all.
4 months on and we are extending our hours and bringing in more staff. We aim to spread the word through increased marketing, but of course word of mouth is our most powerful marketing tool (so if you like what you eat, please tell your friends!). We do not deliver yet and this has been a conscious decision on our part. We want to grow slowly, we want to take small steps.
There have been times, and these have been really hard for us, when we have run out of dough. We make it fresh so it only has a day’s shelf life. We hate to throw away good food at the end of the day so we try our hardest to predict demand. Sometimes we get it wrong and we have to turn customers away. This is truly galling and we are sorry but we are learning and hopefully we will get to a stage when this rarely, if ever, happens. We do encourage customers to order early and, if they know they will be putting in a large order, say for a party or a gathering, then to give us a couple of days notice.
So we look forward to summer. Hopefully it will be a warm one. Hopefully a great one for bakeaway and the many local shops. It all helps to keep Wendover thriving. It all helps to get Bucks baking!
Thank for your support and hope to see you soon.